Sleeping Habit
by SoudaFizz
Summary: Haru can't sleep without holding something, and this fact slips his mind when packing for a sleepover. Implied RinHaru/HaruRin/Sharkbait. During High Speed/6th grade days. One-shot, enjoy.


**Sleeping Habits** – HaruRin ~_Oneshot_~

(A/N: Who actually reads these. 1st Free! Iwatobi Swim Club story! This takes place back in High Speed/6th grade days, before the tournament. Implied Haruka and Rin, really. Hope you guys enjoy it.)

Matsuoka Rin, captain and leader of an Iwatobi Swim Club relay team, had suggested quite a ridiculous idea. After weeks of vigorous training for the upcoming tournament, Rin decided to bring change to their regime one weekend. The decision included absolutely no swimming, which appalled the rest of the team. The young boy had suggested that his team should have a "bonding day," rather, a sleepover.

The team, Tachibana Makoto, Hazuki Nagisa, Nanase Haruka, and Matsuoka Rin were to have a well-deserved day off at the leader's residence. Haruka's initial response to the idea was that he did not want to attend the absurd occasion. Makoto, Haruka's best friend, was OK with the idea, although he'd rather stick to training for the tourney. Nagisa, the youngest, was all for the idea. After constant nagging from the youngest team member, and failed attempts at casually persuading Haru into coming to the sleepover from his best friend, Haru ended up arriving at the Matsuoka residence.

Makoto wasn't surprised, he knew Haru would come. Nagisa looked more surprised than their leader and gave out a loud cheer of joy. Rin looked genuinely surprised, then quickly put on his signature smirk before letting Haru into his home. Haru gave off a cold attitude, as always, but his best friend could tell he wanted to be here. "There's nothing to do at home on a weekend," was Haru's reason for coming. Makoto chuckled to himself, knowing that it was only a half-truth.

The whole team arrived around lunch time, so Rin's mother provided them with a hearty lunch of hamburgers with tea. "An American-Japanese hybrid lunch," as Nagisa dubbed it. Later, Rin gave an exclusive tour of his house, emphasizing the bathroom for who knows why. When they passed by his sister's room, he apparently did not give her room enough attention as his sister, Gou, wanted. So, the young elementary school girl came out and gave a once-in-a-lifetime tour of her girlish room. Haru was surprised her hair was identical to Rin's, but quickly shook the idea off after he told himself they were siblings, so it wasn't abnormal to have the same colored hair.

When the tour came to a close, Nagisa asked if Rin had a garden hose. "Of course we do, why?" Rin replied.

"Well...I was thinking maybe we could have a water fight! You know, just spray ourselves with water and mess around outside!" Nagisa chirped happily. Haru instinctively turned his head towards the blond boy when he heard water being mentioned.

"Yeah, that does sound like a good idea..." Rin pondered. The boy then called out to his mom asking for permission to use the garden hose.

Granted permission, the boys, who conveniently have swimwear with them, hastily change into said swimsuits and dash to Rin's backyard. Rin excitedly ran to the hose on the left side of the house, along with Nagisa, who began unraveling the hose. Barely able to contain his excitement, Rin twisted the faucet for the hose, letting the water flow from it when it had barely reached the corner of his house. Nagisa stopped unraveling the hose and hurriedly picked it up; he then pressed a thumb into the opening, creating a spray. Haru did not seem entirely amused in the beginning. However, throughout the activity, Haru found enjoyment in spraying and splashing each other with cold water.

The end of the day arrived sooner than the boys wanted. There was not enough room in Rin's room for the four of them, unless they wanted to sleep shoulder-to-shoulder. So, the team made room in the living room of the house. Rin, being the owner of the house, claimed the couch-bed as his sleeping space. Nagisa took the area closest to the T.V. (it was also closest to the bathroom), Haru laid his body next to the couch-bed, and Makoto settled in between Nagisa and Haru.

The time was 10pm, and Rin's mother wished them a good night's sleep, and scolded Rin lightly, telling him not to keep them awake too long. 11:30pm, and it seemed that Haru was the only one who wasn't asleep yet. Around 10:12pm, he realized that he had forgotten something important.

Makoto had asked Haru if he forgot something when Haru arrived, and Haru thought he was just nagging him. Haru cursed himself silently, and Makoto as well. The tall youngster knew that Haru was missing that important item, but wasn't direct about it enough for Haru to realize what he had forgotten. Haru knew that Makoto knew what was missing, so why did he ask Haru if he forgot something in such a roundabout way? Haru wouldn't know.

The boy sat up, frustrated. Haru couldn't sleep. He had a fix, a certain habit that he never told anyone. Makoto noticed it once, and asked Haru about it. Haru couldn't deny that Makoto found out somehow, and confirmed it. He didn't know why Makoto even asked about it though, it wasn't important to him. Haru's habit was that he could not sleep without holding something. At home, he had two foot tall dolphin plush hidden in a drawer next to his bed which he took out every night. However, he forgot the plush toy and sat in the dark, confused about what to do.

Minutes later, he complied to the idea of holding one of his team members. He contemplated his choices. He thought of Nagisa first. Haru did not want to sleep by the hyperactive boy because Nagisa would most likely make a large fuss about it in the morning. Haru did not want to deal with that. Next was Makoto, who was to the left of him. He was close enough to hear the deep breathing of his best friend. Haru noted to himself that he appeared to be more peaceful in his sleep than in the day. But Haru did not want to hold Makoto...even if he wanted to; he was too large for him. Haru then peered over his right, where Rin was sleeping.

Haru grimaced when he considered the thought of sleeping next to Rin. It wasn't that Haruka disliked Rin, but something about the shark-toothed boy irritated him. Maybe it was his attitude, and how Haru could tell how fake it usually was. Maybe the fact that Rin challenges him constantly made Haru annoyed. Maybe it was because Haru felt like Rin understood water better than he did.

Although there were many reasons why Haru really did not want to sleep next to Rin, Haru rationalized that Rin would be the best choice. Makoto was too large so even if Haru would hold him, he would still be uncomfortable and not get any sleep. Nagisa would make too big of a deal if Haru didn't wake up before he did, and he would be too much to handle. Haru assumed Rin would also make a fuss, but he had the nerve not to make Haru's actions seem like a crime. He also had a small amount of confidence that he would wake up before Rin did, so that he could avoid any unnecessary drama.

Taking a deep breath, Haru climbed into the couch-bed. Haru frowned at Rin's arrogance—just because that it was his house and that he was the leader of the team didn't automatically allow him to hog the couch-bed all to himself. Haru thought that Rin should've been more considerate.

Haru inched his way closer to Rin's back as silently as possible. The young boy tried to keep his breath as slight as possible as well, so that Rin would not hear or feel his breathing. He was a tiny bit thankful that Rin's back was facing him, because the task at hand would be much harder than expected. After waiting about two minutes to confirm that Rin was still asleep and unaware of Haru's presence, the freestyle swimmer lifted his right arm under the sheets. He then laid his arm over the Rin's torso gingerly.

Ten seconds go by. Thirty seconds pass. There was no reaction from the sleeping boy. Haru let out a long sigh of relief. He quickly regretted that decision, as Rin shifted from under his arm. Haru retracted his arm quickly until all movement from the other subsided.

Haru then tightened his grim around Rin's waist a bit as he pulled himself closer to Rin. It was chilly in the room, for it was barely the beginning of March. The boy found Rin's body more comforting than he thought. Subconsciously, Haru let his forehead rest on Rin's back to get cozier. He silently hoped to the high heavens that Rin would absolutely not wake up soon, and dozed off into his own dream world.

Sunlight filtered through the spaces the blinds provided the next morning. Rin was naturally an early-riser, and he awoke with the sun's rising. He yawned and was about to rise his arms to stretch, when he felt an unusual weight on his waist. He also felt an unfamiliar weight on his back.

_What the…?_ Rin thought as he lifted his right arm to find an arm that was not his own. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Huh?!_ Rin turned his head so he could see who was behind him. His eyes nearly bugged out of his skull to see Haru basically plastered on his back. Wanting to make this assumption 100% clear, Rin gently lifted up the arm that was resting on his waist, and rolled over to his other side. Rin's questions were answered when he saw Haru's sleeping face beside his.

To Rin, Haru's sleeping face wasn't too different from Haru's usual expression. The only difference was that his eyes were closed. Rin stared at the boy next to him for a few moments. _Was the floor _that_ uncomfortable to him? He should've just said something…but then again, that's not something Haru would do,_ Rin laughed silently to himself, _then, why is he here? I don't get him…_

A couple more minutes passed with Rin staring at Haru wondering why he was next to him on the couch-bed, and occasionally flopping Haru's "lifeless" arm in the space between them. Then, Haru grunted softly and Rin looked up. Haru seemed like he was going to yawn. After doing so, Haru then rubbed his drowsy eyes before opening them. The boy certainly did not expect to see a pair of eyes staring intently at his own. And he certainly did not expect to feel another warm hand that was not his over his own.

The two boys blinked at each other for what seemed like five minutes—but was actually five seconds—before Rin said, "Good morning,"

Rin saw Haru's face turn a shade of red before Haru pulled his hand out of the other's and quickly got off the couch-bed. Haru then maneuvered his way to the bathroom hastily. However, on the way there, Haru didn't notice Nagisa's pile of laundry poorly placed in the hallway by the bathroom, and tripped. Rin chuckled slightly before voicing his concern for Haru.

"You OK, Haru?" he asks quietly, not wanting to wake up the others.

"I'm fine," Haru says quickly, not even glancing at Rin, as he continues for the bathroom.

Once he heard Haru finally get into the bathroom, Rin laughed whole-heartedly. "What a weirdo." he said to himself, and laid back down on the couch-bed, staring at the ceiling with a smile on his face.


End file.
